When your car’s gas mileage isn’t where it should be, you’re sacrificing performance and you’re spending a lot more on gas, which might not fit into your monthly budget. Primary Care Auto Repair advises that several factors can affect your vehicle’s gas mileage. Here are six of them.
1. The Weather
Believe it or not, the weather can really affect your car’s gas mileage. When the weather is cold, your car has to take longer to warm up, which can make all of the different parts of the engine work harder. Since your car runs on fuel, that means it’s burning gas at a higher rate than when it doesn’t have to work so hard to warm up.
2. How You Drive
Your habits also affect your car’s gas mileage more than you might expect. If you’re speeding, accelerating rapidly, and then having to brake hard, that’s burning a lot more gas than steadier driving does. Also, if you’re in the habit of keeping a lot of stuff in your car’s trunk and back seat, that’s increasing the load on your car, which also burns more gas.
3. Neglecting Oil Changes
Regular oil changes are crucial because they ensure that your car has fresh, clean oil to lubricate and cool the engine. Dirty oil doesn’t help the engine to run as well as it could, which means that the engine burns more fuel. Be careful about the oil you choose, too, because the wrong oil can be just as bad as forgetting to change your oil regularly.
4. Tire and Wheel Issues
When your car’s tires and wheels are in bad shape, out of balance, or out of alignment, that creates problems everywhere, including with gas mileage. The reason for this is that, again, your car is working harder than it should have to work. This always means that your car is burning more gas than it should.
5. Your Car’s Exhaust
Problems in the exhaust system? That’s going to hinder your gas mileage, too. Your car’s exhaust keeps the air and fuel mixture just right so that the engine has the perfect amount of both and is able to achieve maximum combustion. If the exhaust is leaving too much dirty air in the engine, you’re burning more gas to keep up.
6. Fuel Injector or Pump Issues
Finally, if there’s a problem in the fuel system itself, like with the fuel pump or the injectors, you’re going to have gas mileage issues. Fuel injectors and the pump can get clogged, which means that not enough gas is getting where it needs to go. Likewise, if you’re letting your tank get too low before filling up, you might be starving the fuel pump.
We can help with the gas mileage mystery in your car, truck, or utility vehicle here at Primary Care Auto Repair in Warwick, RI. Give us a call to set up an appointment.